Rebirth of the Three Brothers
by Toni42
Summary: When Harry finally dies, he's reunited with his friends and family, even Tom Riddle. But back on earth things are just getting worse, despite it being years after the war. So Death has decided to send the Three Brothers to 1980 to be reborn as actual brothers and to stop the war before it even begins.
1. A New Start

_**When Harry finally dies, he is reunited with his friends, family and even Tom Riddle. But the world he left behind is still dark and gloomy, despite it being years after the war had ended. Finally, they are given a chance to change it all. Harry, Tom and Severus go back in time and are reborn as triplets in 1980, and they plan to finish the war before it even begins.**_

* * *

 _Return of the Three Brothers_

 _Book One: Rebirth_

* * *

Chapter One:

A New Start

* * *

He knew his time had come. Ninety-Two years of life, his grandchildren now with their own children. Ten prescient of his life had been living in a cupboard; Fifty prescient had been fighting a war; Twenty prescient had been about death; and another twenty had been the aftermath.

Ron had passed when he was sixty-nine. Hermione went when she was seventy-four. George when he was fifty-eight, Percy when he was sixty-two, Bill when he was eighty-seven, Charlie when he was ninety-one and Ginny when she was eighty. Many other where gone as well, like McGonagall, Flickwick, Luna, Neville, Draco Malfoy, Sprout, Rita Skeeter, Hagrid, and many, many others.

And finally, at long last, Harry was about to join them.

Harry laid down on his bed, letting out a long sigh of content as he closed his eyes. He listened to his heart thudding steadily in his ears and let himself sink into his mind. He remembered the time he'd turned his teachers wig blue, the time when he'd first met Hagrid and found out he was a wizard, the time he met Ron and Hermione for the first time, fighting the troll in first year, surviving the trials to the Philosophers Stone, saving Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, meeting Sirius for the very first time, being entered into the Triwizard Tournament, Christmas at Grimmauld Place, meeting his godson Teddy for the first time after the war, marrying Ginny and his three children James, Albus and Lily being born.

His heart was slowing down. Harry took one last, shuddering breath and let his muscles relax, a small smile gracing his lips and the faces of his friends and family flashed before his closed eyelids. His heart gave one last, dull thud before coming to a complete stop.

Harry fell asleep. But this time, forever.

That's what he thought, anyway.

* * *

Death turned his hands round and round, the black wisp's trailing from his fingers and forming a smoky black circle. He reached up and touched his long fingers together and drew them down, then across, creating a triangle. He took one, long finger and touched the tip of the triangle, before bringing it down to touch the bottom.

"Is this a good idea?" a young man with neat black hair asked, looking at Death and then to the symbol curiously.

"We will never know until we try, Antioch." Death replied, in a deep voice.

The wizard with neat black hair grinned slightly. "I like that name better. It's more... unique then Tom."

"Hm, that is true." said another wizard, this one with shoulder-length black hair. He looked much warmer, much happier than he had when he was alive, as if he were a child again. "I seemed to have been the only one of us given a unique name."

"Yes," Antioch said. "But I think I would have preferred to be called Tom rather then Severus- it does mean _servant_ after all, Cadmus."

Cadmus frowned slightly at this, but did not comment. It was almost impossibly rare to see the old, corrupted monster that his apparent brother had been when he was alive- but that had all changed when he entered death. He had never had the ability to love, for his father had been under a love potion while creating him and had accidentally passed it on to his son, not that the man had ever cared. But now, in death, the potion had been broken off and, for the first time ever, Tom Riddle felt something other then anger, greed and remorse. But he does show a bit of his older self from time to time, even the deep hatred to his Muggle father, but it was more- well, _human_.

"Ignotus will be arriving shortly." Death announced, now hovering over a shimmering black cauldron. "Then we shall add the last ingredients."

"Should we not let him see his family first?" Antioch asked, a small frown playing on his features.

"Of course." Death said absently. "They'll have an hour to chat and do what they please before it will be ready to drink. This will also give us time to explain to him what it is exactly you three are going to do."

"We'll only have an hour to make a list then." Cadmus commented, pulling out a piece of parchment from his black robes. "Antioch and I have already done a few things, but we need Ignotus as he was the one who actually _did_ most of them and he can list things we've forgotten."

"Even if we aren't able to finish the list," Antioch said. "It's not like it's going to magically appear in our pockets once we get there. We'll have to get a hold of quill and parchment as soon as we can."

"We're going to be _reborn_ , Antioch." Cadmus said, struggling not to roll his eyes. "It will be quite a while before we will be able to actually _do_ anything."

 _"Quiet."_ Death hissed, raising his head. There was silence for a moment, the two brothers watching the hooded figure silently. Death lowered his head and turned back to the cauldron, speaking to Antioch and Cadmus without looking at them. "Ignotus has arrived."

* * *

 _"Harry!"_

As soon as Harry opened his emerald eyes he felt arms wrap around him in a hug. He automatically returned it, before pulling back to see who the hugger _was_.

It was Hermione, no longer old and wrinkly. She now appeared to be twenty years old again, with a broad smile on her face. Harry realized he probably looked the same.

"Hey, mate!" Ron said, wrapping his arms around his shoulders in a half-hug. "About time you arrived- it's been dead boring without you!"

Deciding to ignore the irony of that statement, Harry returned to hug with ferocity. No sooner did he pulled back that another pair of arms wrapped around him in a hug.

Looking up, Harry gasped. " _Sirius!_ "

"Hey, Harry." Sirius said, his grin rather dog-like. He looked as if he'd never even _heard_ of Azkaban. "Miss me?"

 _Everyone_ was there. Ginny, Fred and George, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Snape, Hagrid, his parents, Remus, Tonks, Hedwig, Snape, Neville, Luna, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mad-Eye, Kingsly, his old professors, _everyone_.

Lily and James Potter came over and hugged him, tears leaking from Lily's eyes, which where identical to his own. Dumbledore clapped him on the shoulder, McGonagall hugged him, Hagrid nearly crushed his bones, Remus hugged him and Tonks ruffled his already messy hair, Hegwig landed on his shoulder and nipped his ear just like she did when he was in school, Neville and Luna shook his hand, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hugged him, Mad-Eye shook his hand, Fred and George pounded him on the back at the same time, Kingsley grinned at him, his old proffessors and even _Snape_ smile at him widely and Ginny kissed him deeply for about three minutes, causing Sirius and James to wolf-whistle, which they both ignored.

Harry was led into a living room like structure, where, to his great surprise, he found none other then Tom Riddle. Not snakelike at all and smiling at his shocked expression, shaking his hand in greeting.

That's when Harry saw the dark, cloaked figure standing a little ways away, next to a black, bubbling cauldron. Death's long fingers trailed across the cauldrons rim, before he turned to look Harry right in the eye.

* * *

"We're going _back?_ " Harry gasped, looking around in astonishment. "We're going to be _reborn?_ "

"You, Antioch and I are." Severus corrected him. "The others will remain here. Sort of. Not really."

"But- that's impossible!" Harry exclaimed. "You can only travel back in time to a _day_ at the very most and even then you can't be _reborn_."

"This is Death, Harry." Remus said, ever the professor. "Many more things are possible then in life."

"And if we mess up?" asked Harry. "What if we just make things worse?"

"I won't let that happen." Tom said determinedly, crossing his arms. "Not under my watch."

"Besides," said Severus. "We can always just kill ourselves and start again."

Tom rolled his eyes. "Honestly, are you suicidal in _all_ your past lives? Death would rather not have to make the potion again- it took fifty-two years just to make this one and Death says that this is the fastest it's ever been brewed!"

"Okay, so we basically have one shot at this." Harry said, his stomach dropping. "But why you two? If your reborn, what would be the point of me coming along?"

"We're not going to be reborn with the same parents." Severus said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "Voldemort and the, ah, older version of me will still be there. We're technically going to be reborn as your triplet brothers."

Harry's mouth dropped open. When he found his voice, he said, "That's... strange."

"Well, yes," Tom said. "But we where brothers in at least _one_ past life- not triplets, but brothers nonetheless. So... yeah... I'm just going to keep telling myself that to try and make it less strange."

"Is that why you keep calling each other Antioch and Cadmus? Aren't those the names of two of the brothers?"

"Yes." Severus answered. "Death gave us a potion that shows us bits and pieces of our past life as the original Deathly Hallows masters. Eventually, calling each other Antioch and Cadmus just became natural. Death'll be giving you the potion as well shortly."

Harry nodded slowly, a slight frown on his face. "What is it we're going to be doing exactly?"

"Stop the war before it even begins." Tom answered. "Maybe even get your godfather out of Azkaban early. I'm afraid to say that we won't be able to save your parents."

"Why not?" Harry asked, disappointed. James squeezed his shoulder.

"Everything evolves around them dying." Severus explained. "If they don't die, you don't defeat Voldemort temporarily. Besides, how are we supposed to stop it if we're babies?"

"I suppose." Harry muttered.

Death appeared in the doorway, carrying three goblets filled with a black substance and a small, violet vial. Their hour was up.

* * *

 _He was running along a grassy hill, trying to keep up with his two older brothers. Antioch, his cloak bellowing in the Autumn wind, reached the top first and looked behind him to grin at them._

 _Ignotus tripped and fell onto the grass, scraping his hands and knees. Cadmus, who had nearly reached Antioch, paused to look at him, before running back down the hill to help him, soon followed by Antioch._

 _"Are you okay, Ignotus?" Cadmus asked, kneeling besides the youngest brother._

 _The four year old sniffed, but nodded, slowly getting to his feet._

 _Suddenly, Antioch grinned. "Here!"_

 _Ignotus' feet suddenly left the ground and he found himself on Antioch's back, gripping his shoulders tightly to stop himself from slipping. Antioch began running up the hill again, much slower and panting much sooner then before, but he kept at it._

 _When they where near the top, Antioch slid Ignotus off his back and the youngest brother only had to take a few steps before he reached the top. Both Antioch and Cadmus cheered, as if he'd just won sort of great race._

 _Ignotus giggled, grinning at his brothers, who grinned back._

* * *

It was so _dark_.

He felt two other bodies pressed against his own, and he felt as if he were floating. It was like he was under water.

Suddenly one of the bodies that was in the dark space with him let out a high-pitched cry, as it was sucked, head-first, through a small hole.

He jerked, his heart jumping madly. Where had the other body gone? What was happening?

Suddenly, the second body was being sucked through the hole as well and this one, too, let out a high-pitched scream. Then it was gone, just like the first body.

For a moment, he just floated there, heart thumping, head spinning, fear clogging his throat. Then he felt himself being sucked towards the hole as well and began to thrash madly, not wanting to go through the hole and experience the obvious pain the other two bodies had been in.

But it was as if he were a spider being sucked into a vacuum cleaner and before he knew it, he felt himself being squeezed at all sides, a bit like Apparating but _painful_.

He couldn't help but cry out, especially when the cold hit. Blinding lights filled his vision and everything seemed blurry. Why was it so _cold_? Where had the warmth gone? The lights were hurting his eyes and he suddenly wanted to be back in the darkness again.

Something fuzzy was being wrapped around him. His vision cleared enough for him to realize it was a blue blanket. Warm, strong arms took him in their grasp and he suddenly felt safe. When he looked up, he saw the beaming face of his father, gently rocking him back and forth.

"Heya, Harry." he whispered.

Harry tried to answer, but only achieved a soft cooing. This seemed to make James happier, because his grin broadened. He was gently laid down in a cot, next to the other two bodies, who he now realized where Tom and Severus. Both did not seem to be enjoying themselves. Severus' nose was no longer hooked, but long like Ron's. Harry guessed this was so he looked a bit less like his older self.

"What will their names be?" he heard one of the Healers above them ask. This immediately caught the three's attention. They had not considered their names being changed.

"That one's Harry James Potter." James said. Harry heard a quill scratching and then he suddenly felt something plastic being clipped around his wrist.

"That's Thomas Henry Potter."

Harry was able to make out the Healer clipping a blue wristband with a name written on it onto Tom's wrist.

"And that one..." James trailed off, looking at Lily, who looked exhausted but happy. She nodded, giving him a small smile.

"And that one's Severus Aaron Potter."

Harry saw a look of surprise enter Severus' black eyes, as the blue band was clipped onto his wrist. Apparently, he had not been expecting them to even consider naming him Severus, let alone James going through with it. Harry himself was a bit surprised.

Suddenly Tom was picked up, soon followed by Severus and Harry himself. The Healers carried them to the bed where Lily sat, giving them a sort of exhausted smile yet glowing all the same.

Harry was handed to her first and Tom was squeezed in next to him, while Severus was placed in the other arm. As the Healers left, telling James to call for them if anything seemed off, three tall figures squeezed past the Healers and into the hospital room.

Harry immediately recognized Sirius, Remus and Snape. Pettigrew, it seemed, was absent. But what was Snape doing here?

"Where's my godson?" Sirius asked, grinning widely.

James, who was sitting with his arm around his wife, stood up and pulled a camera out of his pocket. "You'll get to hold Harry in a moment, just let me take a picture first."

As James held the camera to his eyes, Lily smiled at it. There was a small flash and a picture came out of the bottom. James took it and looked at it, still grinning. It seemed to be hurting his face.

Almost as soon as James had tucked the photo into his pocket did Sirius demand to hold his godson. Harry felt warmth spread through his chest as his father handed him to Sirius, who grinned down at him just like James had down, gently rocking his back and forth, holding him in a way as if he were afraid he'd break him.

Remus appeared over Sirius' shoulder and smiled at Harry, before James handed him Tom. "I believe this is your godson."

Tom's eyes widened in shock, maybe even a bit of horror. He probably hadn't even considered anything about guardianship, let alone his new godfather being a werewolf. His past self _was_ going to kill Lily and James in about a year. That was a weird thought.

Then Severus was handed to Snape, almost reluctantly, by James. But then the black-haired man squared his shoulders and put on a smile, maybe just a little bit fake. Lily's certainly was real.

"You name him after me?" Snape said, looking at the blue bracelet, which bared the name Severus Aaron Potter, in shock.

"Yeah." James said quietly. "You can just call him Junior, if you like. It would make things less complicated 'cause your his godfather."

Okay. Wasn't expecting that.

* * *

The three newly dubbed brothers were soon taken to Godric's Hollow. Each had found a birthmark in the exact, perfect shape of the Deathly Hallows symbol on their right hand. Sirius seemed to think it was rather cool that all three of them had it, in the exact same spot no less.

Harry enjoyed spending time with his parents and godfather, for he knew two of them would be dead and the other would be shipped off the Azkaban. Remus, while he was godfather of Tom, would not be able to get custody of him if something where to happen to James and Lily, but can help raise him and see him frequently. Remus and Sirius had agreed that Sirius would take both of them into custody but it would pretty much be Remus raising Tom if anything where to happen. If only they knew.

The year seemed to fly by. As it turned out, Harry, Tom and Severus where unable to speak at all and instead could only say 'baby gibberish.' Severus had quickly found this irritating. Then there was the rather awkward fact that Snape would come by as frequently as Remus and Sirius and at one point had actually change Severus' nappy. Both Harry and Tom had nearly giggled (as for some reason they seemed incapable of just laughing) their heads off.

But eventually the time that Harry was dreading was here. The three of them where wide awake on the night of October 31st and no matter how Lily tried to put them to bed, they would not sleep. Eventually James took out his wand and began blowing rainbow bubbles for them to pop.

Then came the sound of the wards being broken.

* * *

The Dursleys were worse then he remembered.

Since there were three of them, the cupboard was extremely cramped and they were given more chores to do. Tom had said it was outrageous that they expected three two year old's to be able to scrub the entire kitchen in under three hours, even if they did have the minds of very old men.

Ignotus had quickly become Harry's new nickname when they were finally able to pronounce it and he eventually became comfortable with calling Tom and Severus, Antioch and Cadmus and even with seeing them as his older brothers. He'd never had a sibling before now.

Despite technically being ninety-four, both Tom and Severus treated him as if he was really young and they were his protective big brothers and kept giving him some of their food and Tom even went as far as saying he'd broken a vase when it was actually Harry who had knocked it over.

While all this annoyed him deeply, Harry couldn't help but feel touched. All three of them where still getting flashes of their past lives as Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus, but most of them came when they were sleeping.

When they were able to hold a pencil properly, Severus stole some paper and they began planning the things they should do when they get to Hogwarts. When they were four, Tom suggested running away from the Dursleys, but that was quickly dismissed. If they ran, no matter how horrible the Dursleys were to them, they couldn't risk changing too much and loosing their advantages. But that night, when they thought Harry was asleep, he heard them agree that if the Dursleys decided to go physical on him they were leaving. Period.


	2. Before the Beginning

**Okay, to clear up some confusion because I had left certain bits out, Voldemort went for Harry. He had planned to kill all three of them and Harry had made sure that he would go for him first. I'm sorry I didn't add that in, I kind of thought it was obvious, but apparently it's not. As for Snape not taking them in, Dumbledore convinced him not to and that the Dursleys was the safest place for them, same with Remus. Also the Dursley's wouldn't allow Remus to see them, as they were trying to squish the magic out of them and that, to them, having three young wizards living with them was bad enough without adding a werewolf. Sorry for the confusion.**

* * *

 _Chapter Two:_

Before the Beginning

* * *

Six year old (again) Tom wrapped the present in brown paper clumsily, fumbling with the tape as it kept sticking to his hands and baggy clothes. He held up the two lumps, sighing as he realized this was probably the best he was going to get it.

It had taken a while, all year in fact, to be able to afford get his brothers a decent present. They had been throwing small, admittedly bad parties for their birthdays. Most of them took place in the cupboard under the stairs and others in the park. They usually pranked Dudley on the occasion, but last year for Severus's birthday, Harry had found a small stone and tied a bit of rope around it to make a necklace. Severus only took it off when he had to.

Stuffing the badly wrapped presents under the bed that they shared, Tom opened the cupboard door and stepped out, closing it behind him. He spotted Harry and Severus outside, beginning to clear the driveway, which was covered in a foot of snow.

Pulling on his snow boots, Tom went outside to join them.

* * *

On Christmas day, the three brothers were locked inside their cupboard so Dudley could open his presents in 'peace'. But they didn't mind. They preferred it this way, actually. This way, they could enjoy _their_ Christmas in peace, even if it was in a cramped cupboard and they were only let out to make the Dursleys dinner.

"Happy Christmas!" Harry said, grinning at the other two and showing a missing tooth. Tom and Severus had both agreed that Harry had to be the cutest kid ever, though they decided not to tell him that.

"Happy Christmas!" Tom and Severus said at the same time. Tom reached under the bed and pulled out the two badly wrapped presents and stuffed one into Harry's hands, the other into Severus's.

"Been saving up my money since last New Years." explained Tom, as the two looked at him to their presents in shock. "Although it involved a bit of nicking." he added sheepishly.

Harry looked at him disapprovingly, while Severus just blinked.

"Well, go on then!" Tom said, after a moment of the two staring at them. "Open them! And no returns!"

Lips twitching upwards in an unwilling smile, Harry and Severus began ripping open their presents, making sure not to be too loud encase the Dursleys heard.

Harry's face broke out into a large smile and he held the book up to get a better look at it in the dim light. It was _Lord of the Rings_ , obviously a hand me down from it's worn cover and the name on the first page, which Tom had scribbled out.

"Where did you _get_ this?" Harry asked, flipping through the fantasy book.

"Book store." answered Tom with a shrug. "Hand me down section."

Harry turned to see what Severus had got, and quickly took in his broad grin. It was a master potion book. "H-How did you... ?"

Tom grinned sheepishly as the second oldest brother, rubbing the back of his neck. "Er... I kind of... Apparated to London."

"You went to Diagon Alley?" Harry hissed. He heard the voices in the living room falter, but, thankfully, there was no sound of footsteps heading towards him.

Tom nodded as head as soon as he was sure no one was coming to shut them up. "Yeah, but no one recognized me, thankfully. I told the lady at the desk that it was my dad's birthday and that I wanted to buy the book for him."

"Antioch..." Severus trailed off, slowly shaking his head at him, stunned. After a moment, he found his voice. "Thanks."

"Thank you, Ani." Harry said, opening his new book to start reading immediately. "I wish we could have gotten you a present too."

"It's not a problem, Iggy." Tom smiled, gently rubbing Harry's messy hair. "You can get me as many presents as you like once we're at school."

Severus smiled at his brothers, gently running a hand over the potions book, which was admittedly hand me down as well. But he didn't mind. He'd really missed brewing his potions and at least he could read about them. Although he better keep it hidden from the Dursleys.

"Cad?"

Blinking back to reality, Severus realized the other two were looking at him. "What?"

Harry smiled at him. "Nothing. You just spaced out for a moment."

Severus rolled his eyes and set his book aside to read later.

* * *

"-seven, eight, nine, ten. _Ready or not, here I come_!"

Severus looked around the park, starting to wander around in search of his brothers. They had been listing the things they would need to change, as they would be starting Hogwarts next year, and _somehow_ it had turned to a childish game of Hide and Seek. Severus was starting to think that while they were mentally very old men, they had been given childish characteristics. Perhaps Death had done it on purpose, so no one would get too suspicious, mainly Dumbledore.

The spring sun beamed down on him, little droplets of rain racing each other down the slide and dripping off of tree branches.

Heading towards a small, plastic tunnel, Severus looked through and immediately spotted Tom. Grinning sheepishly, the time traveler climbed out of the tunnel. Severus rose an eyebrow at him.

"I ran out of time, okay?!"

Rolling his eyes at him, Severus looked around the seemingly empty apart from them park. "Where's Iggy?"

Tom looked around, as if Harry would just pop out of no where. "No idea."

"I can't believe he's beating the Dark Lord at Hide and Seek." Severus muttered, grinning when Tom shoved him. The two walked around the park, looking behind tree's and bushes and under benches and the slide. But Harry was no where to be seen.

"Ignotus!" Tom shouted, slight concern entering his voice. "Come out! You've already won!"

"Alright, fine!"

There was the sound of a creaking branch- _snap!_ Harry gave a short yell as he fell out of the tree, branches smacking at his face and arms, before landing with _thump_ in the grass.

" _HARRY!"_

Before he could get his bearings back, two pairs of arms were hauling him to his feet. Harry blinked, surprised, as Tom began checking him over. He was covered in small scratches and bruises, but nothing was broken or twisted.

As soon as he was sure that his brother didn't have any fatal injuries, Tom pulled Harry into a tight hug that caught him completely off guard.

"Are you okay?" Severus asked, after Tom had pulled back.

"I'm fine." Harry answered. "Just a few scratches."

"Let's get back." said Tom, standing up from where he had been kneeling in front of Harry, who was a head shorter then both him and Severus. "I want to disinfect those cuts."

"Ani, I'm fine." said Harry exasperatedly. Tom didn't answer, instead settling with a noise that said plainly that he wasn't going to listen. The trio walked out of the park, Harry saying that they didn't need to go back so soon, but he was ignored.

When they reached the road, Tom and Severus grabbed both of Harry's hands, causing the boy to blush, and didn't let go until they were going up the stairs in the Dursleys's house to the bathroom.

Harry sat on the closed toilet seat in the upstairs bathroom, as Severus climbed up onto the counter so he could reach the medicine cabinet above it. He pulled out some cotton buds and disinfectant, before jumping down and covering a cotton bud with disinfectant.

"Wait, _no_ -"

Tom grabbed Harry so he couldn't get away, pulling him back onto the toilet seat.

"Iggy- _hold still_." Tom hissed, trying to keep a hold of the wiggling boy. He grabbed his arm and pulled it forward, showing the red scratches on it. Severus began dabbing at the cuts with the cotton bud, causing Harry to hiss as they stung.

When Severus was satisfied, he placed some band aids on the deeper ones and pulled back to look at his work. It wasn't until Severus gave a single nod to show he was done did Tom let go of Harry, who scowled at the two of them, rubbing his band aid covered arms.

"That wasn't funny."

"Not to you, at least." Severus said, putting the cotton buds and disinfectant back in the cabinet. Harry glared at him.

* * *

"Hey, Ani, look." Harry whispered, pointing at the grey wolf lazing in the sun. "It's Moony."

Severus snorted, while Tom gave a little grin. "Better not let the Dursleys hear you say that. Petunia might recognize his nickname."

"This is boring." Piers, Dudley's mousy friend, said. "Someone throw a rock at it."

"Don't do that." said Harry, glaring at Piers. "That's just cruel."

"Whatever. And who said you could talk to me?" Piers sneered at him and walked off over to Dudley.

They walked around the zoo for a while. Petunia and Vernon bought Dudley and Piers an ice cream and couldn't get Harry, Severus and Tom away fast enough, as the lady working the parlor asked what they wanted. So the three brothers got a cheap lemon popsical each.

Then they visited the reptile house, where Harry went in search of the boa constrictor.

Dudley pressed his face against the glass, his nose going up like a pigs. When the snake continued to sleep, he turned to his father. "Make it move."

Vernon tapped the glass smartly. It didn't move.

"This is boring." Dudley muttered, shuffling off.

" _This_ is the snake you let loose?" asked Severus, when he was sure none of the Dursleys or Piers were coming back, leaning down to get a better look at the sleeping reptile.

"Yup." Harry said, popping the 'p.'

"That's... that's Nagini." Tom said.

Harry spun around to look at him. " _What?_ "

"That's Nagini." Tom repeated, his mouth open in shock. "That's my _horcrux_."

"She's already a horcux?" Severus asked, eyes wide.

Tom shook his head. "No, no, I didn't make her a horcrux until the summer before I was resurrected. That old gardener was the victim."

"So... if I let her go again, she'll be made into a horcrux." Harry said, frowning.

"Probably, yeah." answered Severus, nodding.

Harry licked his lips. "And what will happen if we take her with us?"

Tom blinked. "Huh?"

"She can be your familiar. I'm getting Hedwig, so that means you two can get your own pets. We can put her in Cad's backpack."

Severus cocked his head to the side, a small frown on his face. "I suppose, if we keep her from the Dursleys, it'll work."

"But how can I bring a _snake_ to Hogwarts?" Tom asked.

"Ron brought a rat." Harry answered, not taking his eyes off of Nagini. "And the Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, brought a spider."

"There was also a student in Ravenclaw that had brought a snake." Severus said. "Not as big as this one, but a snake nonetheless."

"Alright. Can you still speak Parsteltounge, Antioch?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I think so."

"Good." Harry leaned forward, as the snake raised it's head, and began to hiss under his breath.

* * *

"Get the post, Dudley."

"Make Harry get it."

"Get the post, Harry."

"Make Dudley get it."

"Hit him with your Smeltings stick, Dudley."

Dudley tried to hit Harry with his stick, but Tom grabbed it and sent him a death glare. Harry went into the hall, where a stack of letters sat on the doormat. He bent down and scooped them up, quickly spotting the three thick yellow envelopes. He grabbed them, grinning, and stuffed them into his pocket.

Trying to put on a straight face, Harry went back into the kitchen and sat the letters in front of his uncle. He gestured with his head to the kitchen door. Tom and Severus looked at each other, before getting to their feet.

"Where are you going?" Petunia asked, wrinkling her nose as if they were something disgusting.

"Just back to our cupboard." Severus answered, as the three quickly did so. The Dursleys watched them go suspiciously.

Harry dug a hand into his pocket and took out the letters. Nagini, who laid under the bed, poker her head out curiously. Each letter was addressed to each of them in emerald green ink.

 _Mr. H. Potter_

 _The Cupboard Under the Stairs_

 _Number 4, Privet Drive_

 _Little Whinging_

 _Surrey_

Harry ripped open his letter and quickly read through it, his heart leaping. Finally, after nearly eleven years of waiting, it was here.

"This is strange." Severus muttered, as he looked over his letter.

"What is?" Tom asked.

Severus showed them the envelope.

 _Mr. S. Potter_

 _The Cupboard Under the Stairs_

 _Number 4, Privet Drive_

 _Little Whinging_

 _Surrey_

"What's wrong with it?" Harry asked.

"It say's _Potter_." Severus answered, slowly shaking his head. "At our Muggle school, since we're in Primary, they just call us by our first names and since we don't really hang around with any of the kids, none of us were ever _called_ Potter."

"That's true." said Tom thoughtfully. "When we get to Hogwarts, they'll be calling us 'Mr. Potter' instead of Snape and Riddle. That's going to take some getting used to."

Harry leaned over to look at Tom's letter.

 _Mr. T. Potter_

 _The Cupboard Under the Stairs_

 _Number 4, Privet Drive_

 _Little Whinging_

 _Surrey_

"It will be a bit weird to not be the only Potter at school." Harry muttered, just now realizing this.

"Okay, well, we better just get on with the plan." Tom said, stuffing his letter in his pocket. "Everyone remember it?"

Harry and Severus nodded.

"Perfect. Let's get going."

The three boys stood and Tom turned to Nagini. " _We'll be back soon, Nagini. We'll bring back some dead rats."_

"We're going to the park!" Harry shouted, pulling on his coat.

"What are you talking about?" Vernon roared, stomping into the hall. "You three have chores to do!"

"We'll do them when we come back." said Severus simply, opening the door.

Vernon seemed to swell to twice his size, his face turning purple. "NO YOU WILL NOT! YOU WILL GET ON WITH YOUR CHORES _RIGHT NOW_ -"

"Get Dudley to do them!" Tom shouted back angrily, gripping Severus and Harry's shoulders. "The fat pig sure could do with some discipline!"

Vernon began to splutter, his face going a darker shade of purple, while Petunia and Dudley gaped at the kitchen door. Before any of them could say anything, Tom steered his brothers outside and closed the door behind them.

They walked for a while to get out of the blood wards and out of sight of both Miss. Figg and Muggles, before turning on the spot and Apparating to the Leaky Cauldron.

They couldn't just go and buy their supplies at that moment, as Dumbledore at the key to their Trust Vault, but where instead here to go to the post office to accept their invitation to Hogwarts and ask for someone to help them with their shopping, as well as their 'money problem.'

After buying Nagini a bag of dead mice, the trio went back to Little Whinging and spent a day at the park, before heading home to the very angry Dursleys.


End file.
